Ian Escuza Stops Luca Borando Early on Contender Series
Ian Escuza still has not seen a second round.
The Peruvian featherweight scored a first-round TKO of Luca Borando on Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series Season 10. The finish came early at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas and aired Tuesday on Paramount+.
Escuza walked Borando to the fence and kept coming. The broadcast clock was still in the opening minute when the referee stepped in and waved it off.
“This guy won’t take a step backwards. He’s extremely aggressive,” one commentator said as Escuza pressed the action. Moments later the fight was over.
“And it clears for Escuza,” the call went. “He has never seen the second round, and it continues here in Vegas.”
Borando dropped to the fence. Escuza raised both arms and turned to the crowd while the official checked on the Italian.
Escuza entered 7-0 with every win inside the first round. Five of those finishes were knockouts or TKOs. Two were submissions. The stoppage of Borando makes him 8-0 and keeps the same pattern intact.
His last fight before Las Vegas was June 24 at Inka FC 58. He defended the Inka featherweight title by stopping Octavio Lopez with a body kick in 28 seconds. That was the résumé he brought into the Contender Series cage.
Borando came in 9-1 with a five-fight winning streak and most of his victories by knockout. He had been finishing opponents in Cage Warriors and entered as a slight favorite in some books. The first-round power that carried him through Europe did not get time to show.
The bout was billed at 145 pounds on a five-fight Contender Series card. Aieza Bertolso had already opened the night with a first-round submission of Camila Reynoso. Escuza made it two early finishes in Las Vegas.
A first-round TKO is the kind of tape Dana White reviews when contracts are decided after the show. No official offer had been announced when Escuza left the cage. The result itself was not in doubt.
Escuza fights out of Pitbull Martial Arts Center in Lima and carries the nickname El Especimen. At 30, he has now put eight professional opponents away before the five-minute mark.
Week 8 still had fights left after this one. For Escuza, the night already matched every night he has had as a pro. He walked forward, he did not give ground, and the referee never needed a second round.
